What happens when Marvel Run out of A-Listers?

[Dasher10]

Right now the only A-listers who Marvel have left to develop are Blade, Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Shang Chi and the Thunderbolts. Three of the above are rumored for upcoming TV series but there is no indication from anywhere that She-Hulk or Shang Chi is going to be in the MCU in the near future.

I know that Marvel knocked it out of the park with Ant-Man and are doing a Cloak and Dagger story so adapting more B-listers like Black Knight and Wonder Man isn't impossible but both of those characters lack enemies and I can't foresee a sequel for either.

That's not even getting into C-listers like Sentry, Blue Marvel and Tigra who have next to no solo material to choose from.

Am I the only person who wants to see Marvel stick to sequels and spin-offs of existing characters with Phase 4?

 

[Silver Surfer]

Eventually Marvel will introduce the new generation to replace the current one:

Kamala Khan - Ms. Marvel

Miles Morales - Spider-Man

Kate Bishop - Hawkeye

Riri Williams - Iron-heart

Amadeus Cho - The Hulk

 

[NotNickFury]

Hey, if they can turn a mainstream audience into fans of something as obscure as Guardians of the Galaxy, even something Z-List could work with proper planning and casting.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Right now the only A-listers who Marvel have left to develop are Blade, Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Shang Chi and the Thunderbolts.

You and I have a very different definition of "A-Lister."

Anyways, the answer is recast the current A-Listers like Iron Man, Captain America, and continue with sequels starring them with new actors.

 

[Darkraid]

They will continue the A-listers with new cast.

 

[Darkraid]

You and I have a very different definition of "A-Lister."

LOL none of those mentioned are a-listers. Hell, not even Iron Man, Cap and Thor are a-listers to begin with. Only Spidey, Hulk and Wolverine can be considered a-lister.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Eventually Marvel will introduce the new generation to replace the current one:

Kamala Khan - Ms. Marvel

Miles Morales - Spider-Man

Kate Bishop - Hawkeye

Riri Williams - Iron-heart

Amadeus Cho - The Hulk

That would kill the MCU. Nobody will care about a bunch of second rate legacy characters.

Recasting is the only sensible option.

 

[Silver Surfer]

That would kill the MCU. Nobody will care about a bunch of second rate legacy characters.

Recasting is the only sensible option.

Oh they will, Feige has a knack of making people care about Z listers.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Oh they will, Feige has a knack of making people care about Z listers.

Yes, he does. But not anywhere near the levels they would giving up. Look at Dr. Strange, for example. That movie is doing very well for a relatively unknown hero. It also going to do less than half of what the last Iron Man movie did. They would be leaving hundreds of millions of dollars on the table by not using characters like Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.

And it is one thing to make an original, rather unique character like Ant-Man or Dr. Strange popular and completely another to try market something as a replacement for a character like Tony Stark.

Remember what happened with Ghostbusters when they tried to replace Peter Venkman and company?

 

[Silver Surfer]

Yes, he does. But not anywhere near the levels they would giving up. Look at Dr. Strange, for example. That movie is doing very well for a relatively unknown hero. It also going to do less than half of what the last Iron Man movie did. They would be leaving hundreds of millions of dollars on the table by not using characters like Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.

RDJ's Iron-Man is one of a kind, not the benchmark, Marvel knows that.

Strange is going to make double what the first Cap movie made and 1.5X what the first Thor movie made.

 

[Web-Head]

I don't think there's anything to worry about yet. We still have at least 1 more Guardians movie, 2 more Doctor Strange movies, possibly 3 or more Spider-Man movies, a Black Panther trilogy, Captain Marvel, Inhumans, Ant-Man too...Not to mention they'll probably get the Fantastic 4 rights within 5 or 6 years, if not sooner.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

RDJ's Iron-Man is one of a kind, not the benchmark, Marvel knows that.

Strange is going to make double what the first Cap movie made and 1.5X what the first Thor movie made.

That was before they were established A-Listers. Now they are.

If they try trotting out a lineup like you mentioned as The Avengers, I'm done with the MCU.

 

[Darepool]

LOL none of those mentioned are a-listers. Hell, not even Iron Man, Cap and Thor are a-listers to begin with. Only Spidey, Hulk and Wolverine can be considered a-lister.

Iron Man and Cap aren't A-listers now? Based on what, the history of comics the last twenty years or the IP's that Marvel value more then any other - that being the film, tv and animation properties? IM3 made 1.2 billion, how much did the Wolverine make? The times have changed.

Cap - Certainly an A-Lister. I'd argue he always has been as a legacy character.

Iron Man - Definitely an A-lister. IM = $$$$. Ask marvel how they determine who's an A-Lister and I'd bet money is somehow involved. .

 

[Silver Surfer]

That was before they were established A-Listers. Now they are.

Exactly, Feige made them into A-Listers, he can do it again with another group of characters. Especially since characters like DS are ahead of where Cap and Thor started.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Exactly, Feige made them into A-Listers, he can do it again with another group of characters. Especially since characters like DS are ahead of where Cap and Thor started.

They weren't replacing popular characters though. That's the difference. As soon as audience start seeing their favorite characters like Tony Stark and Peter Parker getting replaced, they will reject it.

What you are suggesting is the same sort of garbage that has ruined Marvel Comics. Why would the film division want to be infected with that trash?

Also, by that time, Feige is likely to be gone/promoted too.

 

[Silver Surfer]

They weren't replacing popular characters though. That's the difference. As soon as audience start seeing their favorite characters like Tony Stark and Peter Parker getting replaced, they will reject it.

It was much, much, more difficult before, Marvel brand back then was new and unknown. Right now Marvel has so much public capital they can do whatever they want and people will eat it up.

Not to mention a new diverse eventual Avengers lineup will be a massive PR event.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

No brand, no matter how big, is invincible. As soon as people stop getting what they want, they will do something else. Look at Star Wars (saw the box office for Attack of the Clones plummet after Episode 1), Jurassic Park (third one made less worldwide than what the first one did in the US alone), and Batman (franchise was dormant for years after B&R). The new Harry Potter movie isn't tracking well either.

Disney should be well acquainted with this as their animated films have been up (late 30s/early 40s, 50s/early 60s, 90s, now) and down (late 40s, 70s, 80s, 2000s) for as long as they have been doing feature films.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Not to mention a new diverse eventual Avengers lineup will be a massive PR event.

That sure helped Ghostbusters.

 

[Silver Surfer]

That sure helped Ghostbusters.

Yeah cause the MCU and Ghostbusters are a true equivalence.

 

[Lantern Venom]

Right now the only A-listers who Marvel have left to develop are Blade, Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Shang Chi and the Thunderbolts. ?

Those aren't A-list characters at all, but they each have potential.

Eventually Marvel will introduce the new generation to replace the current one:

Kamala Khan - Ms. Marvel

Miles Morales - Spider-Man

Kate Bishop - Hawkeye

Riri Williams - Iron-heart

Amadeus Cho - The Hulk

TA Hulk has been a disaster. If Marvel Studios wants Cho, they should just let him be himself.

Hey, if they can turn a mainstream audience into fans of something as obscure as Guardians of the Galaxy, even something Z-List could work with proper planning and casting.

These are true words. If they can make people care about Rocket Racoon, nothing is off the table in terms of possible success.

LOL none of those mentioned are a-listers. Hell, not even Iron Man, Cap and Thor are a-listers to begin with. Only Spidey, Hulk and Wolverine can be considered a-lister.

They're original Avengers and Cap in particular was a cultural icon for decades prior to the MCU.

 

[AlluAllu]

Of course movie fans would accept Kamala, Miles and Kate. They're awesome.

But I think that phase 5 or phase 6 should be the end. Superhero films aren't going to be popular forever and 5 or 6 phases total should give them enough time for Spider-Man, Black Panter, etc trilogies and movies about legacy characters. And perhaps Fantastic Four.

 

[Stark Bauer]

They won't run out of A list characters. As mentioned, the GotG were more like Z list and back in the 90s anyone not named Batman Superman Spider-Man or X Men were not A listers. It's more likely we will just run out of time and not live long enough to see the rest of the Marvvel Universe join the MCU.

As long as they continue to make good quality movies with well written stories that have characters people can care about, they will be fine

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

As mentioned... They already did run out of the "A-List" characters... And they are doing fine. Still lots of characters to develop in live action. They've barely scratched the surface of the roster of characters with possibilities. And as was again already mentioned, they will James Bond the Thor, Cap, IM level characters. Not to mention characters they already have introduced that have not been given solo films that could easily be developed even more in spotlight films, like Widow and Hawkeye or for that matter villains could be tapped as well for solo projects.

 

[SirStrangefolk]

The MCU in 2035-2040:

- Prowler
- Darkhawk 3
- Songbird
- White Tiger
- Black Knight 3
- Silk 2
- Machine Man
- Forceworks 2
- Nova 5
- Ms. America 2
- Wonder man 6
- Hercules & Amadeus 3
- Eternals 2
- Quasar 2
- Blue Marvel 2
- West Coast Avengers 4

Something like that? t:

 

[Silvermoth]

Marvel ran out of A listers a long time ago. Arguably they never had them. Spider-Man and xmen were A listers but iron man and doctor strange definitely weren't. But they made them A listers and they haven't even gotten to the non straight white make characters yet.

So they'll be fine